US Secretary of State visits Russia to seek common interests but cancels Moscow visit
Latest news, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled the Moscow phase of his trip to Russia.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed hope that Washington and Moscow will be able to find common ground. According to him, the two sides can reach a mutual understanding on the issues of Syria and Afghanistan. At the same time, he affirmed that the situation in Venezuela is a more complicated issue.
Mr. Pompeo stressed the need to engage with Russia in areas where the two countries may have common interests.
Earlier, as the US State Department announced, Mr. Pompeo visited Russia on May 12-14. On Tuesday, he will go to Sochi - not Moscow - to meet with Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov.
The reason why Mr. Pompeo canceled his visit to Moscow has not been clearly explained, except that he is said to have "changed direction" and will go to Brussels to discuss "pressing issues", especially Iran, with European leaders.